Former UK, Belfry standout returning home
BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
LENORE — As rumored and expected, Mingo Central High School will have David Jones as its new head football coach. The hiring was made official Jan. 30 at the Mingo County Schools Board of Education meeting at Lenore K-8 school, pending certification.
Jones, a Red Jacket native, most recently coached at Bourbon County. He also had a recent head coaching job at Phelps and coached at the University of Pikeville.
“When I left (Phelps) to go to Bourbon County, my plans were always to get back home and I knew it was going to be hard,” Jones said. “Because only a few schools could have gotten me to leave and Mingo Central was literally the No. 1 school on my list.
“It just so happened all the stars lined up and when I interviewed, I didn’t take it lightly. I knew this job was going to catch the attention of some high-profile coaches in the state and out-of-state coaches,” added Jones. “But I’m extremely excited to get started. I can’t thank the administration and board enough for choosing me to lead my hometown school and I will not take this lightly. I hope the whole community knows that my heart has always been in West Virginia. I learned what I did – ultimately to come back home and lead our youth to greatness and that’s from our youth league to our high school kids!”
Jones grew up in Mingo County at the Little Italy Camp section of Red Jacket. He attended Matewan Middle School and Matewan High School in the first two years of his high school career before going across the Tug River to play at Belfry High School. He also played in the youth leagues in the Red Jacket and Matewan communities.
Jones helped lead Belfry to back-to-back state championships in 2003-2004 and was an All-State selection.
The speedy running back had a stellar four-year playing career at the University of Kentucky from 2005-08. He had a free agent tryout in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and played arena league pro football.
Jones will be the fifth head football coach in school history as he will be taking over the reins from former coach Chase Moore who led the Miners for the past two seasons.
In the past, Jones also coached the Kentucky All-Stars in the Hatfield-McCoy Bowl.
The new Miners football mentor will have a big debut Thursday, Aug. 24, as MCHS plays at county rival Tug Valley. The two county foes have played each other only once, way back in 2011, with Mingo Central winning 71-12 at Naugatuck. That was the first year for Mingo Central after consolidation.
Jones will look to turn around the Miners program, which has suffered three straight sub .500 seasons. However, the Miners have had success in the past winning the Class AA state title in 2016 under former head coach Yogi Kinder.
Despite having a losing record the past two seasons, the Miners have been one of the top teams in Class AA since the school opened in 2011, posting an 89-41 record in 12 seasons and making the playoffs eight times.